Mystery Crime Books

Maggie O'Neill is a pretty average woman in her mid to late twenties; no boyfriend, awful office job, nerve-wrecking mother and uber-perfect sister; little money; stuck in a US-smalltown in the Midwest - which means the people are ultraconservative and pretty intolerant. So imagine her surprise when she finds a new job in a giftshop and her new boss Felicity tells her that she's a witch! Said fact quickly brings Felicity into a lot of trouble when her sister is murdered, she gets framed for it and the police is only too willing to believe she's the murderer because after all, someone like her can't be a good person! Maggie feels she has to help her new boss and friend. So while she's trying to find the real killer, she also finds out that what her family always condemned as too much imagination are actually paranormal abilities she has possessed all her life but could never develop. Not that Tom Fielding, the policeman who would like to date her is too happy when she gets so close to the paranormal and the people involved with it. But then there's also Marcus, the gorgeous member of Felicity's coven...
This book is a mixture between different genres with its paranormal elements and the (quite good) crime story. The title and the references to witches might lead the reader to expect something with more supernatural occurrences and magic, but the book is more into modern witches who practise their craft as a peaceful religion and way of life. There are paranormal elements with ghosts, empathy, protection spells etc., but they don't dominate the story. I think those misled expectations are a reason why some people gave this book bad reviews. Another element is the chic-lit-tone of the novel, which mostly shows itself in the sense of humour and the romantic elements, which play a relatively minor role. This book is mostly light entertainment with a good crime story and a very well done element of modern witches. I think as long as you don't expect a lot of fantasy or magic (or a romance novel), this should be a fun book to read. Personally I would have liked the romance element to get a bit more room, but then it's only the first book in a series and I guess the men and Maggie's discovery of her paranormal abilities will get developed further in the other volumes. To summarize: Not extraordinary, but a nice and fun book.
A Charmed Death (Berkley Prime Crime Mysteries) Hex Marks the Spot: A Bewitching Mystery No Rest for the Wiccan

The Trouble With Magic is the first in a charming new magic series. Maggie, a free thinker in a small town, is dissatisfied with her current job. On a rainy morning, she arrives late for work and winds up unemployed. She is drawn to an ecclectic, antique store downtown where she meets the warm and charming Felicity. Felicity makes her a job offer on the spot and Maggie takes a giant leap of faith, and accepts the job. Maggie and Felicity quickly form a warm friendship and Maggie learns that Felicity is a practising witch. Felicity learns that Maggie has powers of her own that she is unaware of and offers to help her discover those powers and learn more about withcraft. Along the way there is the murder of Felicity's sister and she becomes the prime suspect. Maggie is unwilling to believe that the warm and engaging Felicity is the murderer and begins her own investigation to prover her innocence. This is a great story about friendship, keeping an open mind, self discovery and learning and being true to yourself. I can't recommend this enough - it's a pure delight!

I loved the book until the last few chapters. The killer was obvious, which is okay. But the main character is so incredibly clueless and DUMB about it! I almost threw the book down without reading the end, that's how irritated I was. I loved all the other characters, but the thick-headed narrator ruined the series for me.

I loved this start of a new cozy mystery series by Madelyn Alt. She writes a magical light mystery story that is just enchanting to read, and leaves one wanting more. Can't wait to read more of her work. Well done.

Maggie O'Neill is unhappy with her job and when she practically falls into an offer to work at an antique store called Enchantments she eagerly agrees. She quickly becomes friends with storeowner Felicity Dow and is intrigued when she finds out that Felicity calls herself a witch. Maggie is just starting to learn the ropes at Enchantments when Felicity's estranged sister Isabella is murdered and the police consider Felicity to be their number one suspect. Maggie doesn't believe Felicity is the killer and sets out to convince the police. But by doing so, she not only risks the wrath of hunky Deputy Tom Fielding, but she's putting herself in danger from a crazed killer.

"The Trouble with Magic" is the very good first book in what looks like a charming series. I love the antique store setting and the magic elements in the book. Author Madelyn Alt does a good job of depicting life in a small town and the many secrets people living there have. Maggie is a good heroine - bored with her job and her life and looking for a change. She's a loyal friend, although I have to admit I wondered why she was so willing to help Felicity when she barely knew her. Felicity too is a great character - although perhaps a little too trusting. Of the other characters Tom Fielding and the mysterious Marcus Quinn stand out. It will be interesting to see how Maggie's relationship with the two of them develops in future books. The magical elements are well done and quite believable. The mystery itself is well plotted, with plenty of suspects, although readers may figure out who the killer is a bit earlier than they would like.

A Charmed Death (Bewitching Mystery, Book 2) is the second book in this bewitching series. Enjoy.

I am an avid scrapbooker, and teach nationally. If J. Slan made a mistake, it certainly wasn't to be found in this book.
I knew I was going to be sorry I started this book yesterday - I knew I'd read it to the end, and I did! The twists and turns you never see coming! Don't plan on "turning out the lights" at the end of each chapter, it won't happen!

Kiki Lowenstein became real instantly. You cheered for her, cried with her, and loved her mothering. You hated all who crossed her, yet wanted them to continue so you could see her evolve. Each person, heck, each ANIMAL became special!!

So tomorrow, since I won't have my book to read - I will scrap a page of my new best friend - Kiki Lowenstein. I can't wait for the next book, I'll be awaiting that as much as I did each of the Harry Potter books! Slan has picked up for me, where Rowling left off!

PAPER, SCISSORS, DEATH by Joanna Campbell Slan is a really fun and enjoyable read. I liked the main character, KiKi Lowenstein right from the start and I adore her relationship with both her pre-teen daghter Anya and her beautiful dog Gracie. Her relationships with her relatives and friends are so realistic because none was perfect and to me that is real.

Although KiKi is an avid scrapbooker, the reader of this book does not need to know a darn thing about "scrapping" to enjoy this book thoroughly. That being said,I loved the scrapbook hints and ideas at the end of some of the chapters.

Now to the core of the book....... the mystery. I adore a good mystery and PAPER, SCISSORS, DEATH is just that. The book kept my interest from start to finish and the suspense was wonderful because, to me, there were many characters who could have been the one to have" dunnit". The descriptions of the characters, the places, the scrapbooking were all so good. I felt like I knew each of them. I especially fell in love with the good looking cop and pictured him looking like...... well I won't say as we all have our own idea of what a good looking cop should look like.

When I was a kid I wanted in the worst way to be Nancy Drew and I couldn't wait to go on to Nancy's next adventures. Now as an adult I look so forward to my next Mary Higgins Clark book, my next " Melanie Travis" book and now my next " KiKi Lowenstein" book!!!!

Keep up the good work Joanna!!!! We are using PAPER, SCISSORS, DEATH as our next BAD GIRLS BOOK CLUB read!!!!!!

Sue Betts, Minnesota

As soon as I started reading Paper Scissors Death, I knew it would be an enjoyable read. It really kept me coming back and the end has quite a twist that I didn't see coming at all. The last sentence in the book will keep you coming back for more. Joanna did a great job with this book. The references to scrapbooking were right on. She hit the ball out of the park with this one. I can't wait for the sequel!

I'm no scrapbooker. In fact, I'm not very crafty at all, so I wasn't sure how much I'd enjoy a "Scrap and Craft" mystery.

I needn't have worried. Kiki the professional victim drove me a little crazy at first, as I'm more of a (less hairy) Dodie, myself. But I loved the way Kiki's friends Dodie and Mert quickly signed her up for "Tough Tamales University, School of Hard Knocks" and toughened her right up.

What I'm saying is that I was hooked from the first line to the last. I finished the book this morning, and have spent the rest of the day still thinking about Kiki's life and imagining what will happen next. The characters were real to me, the sense of place was perfect, and the mystery was solid, deftly handled.

One of my favorite things about this book was the setting. I love a good book set in St. Louis, and this one was more so than most. It wasn't just the names of the streets and malls: I know those Ladue moms, and I loved how Kiki held her flashlight like she was Albert Pujols at bat when she was going after the intruder in her house.

But it's not just local flavor. Slan is a great writer with a real knack for description. When she's depressed, Kiki sees a November sky like mixed concrete. The whole book is full of great little observations like that. And while most of the book is very fast-paced and funny, occasionally Slan slows things down with some fabulous descriptive prose.

I assumed that a scrapbooking mystery would *have* to be a cozy, but I'm not sure if this one is or not. It's definitely a traditional mystery, but there's more heft to this novel than most cozies, weighing in at 327-trade-paperback-sized pages, though it's still a very quick read. That's because there's a bit more action and violence than you might find in most cozies. Not too much violence, and definitely no bad language (Kiki wouldn't stand for it!) but she does find herself in harm's way from time to time.

This was a good, fun read. Highly recommended!

It's not a very deep story. I read it in one evening. It does have an interesting psycological twist and puts forth the truth that our words do hurt others and start a series of negative events. There is a fair level of morbidity to the story. I really don't see the need for the offensive language. It had every word that i don't want to hear or my kids to say. I know that the author thinks its probably pertinent to the story line, but it really could have been just as interesting without. i think that's a sign of a writer that is not very creative as evidenced by the shallowness of the story line--kids with abusive parents that act out. I threw it away and told my kids that it cussed all the way through.

This book was very suspenseful and entertaining but I am sick of books and movies that get you interested and then just end with little/no closure. This is one of those so if you want to know what happens to the characters and have things wrapped up, dont read this because apparently the author got bored and decided to just say 'the end' without finishing. At least that's how it felt to me anyway.

A tightly plotted, suspenseful story that keeps the pages turning. The question of "is she still alive" filled my head for most of the story, and I couldn't put the book down until I'd found out. Nicely done.

SPOILERS below, read at your own risk.

The ending was a little too rushed for my taste. I understand it's because of Cass's current state of mind, but I thought the shift was too sudden. Maybe because, throughout the book we see the story from the perspective of three people. Then, after the rescue, we only see Cass. I'd have liked to see a tiny bit from Kyle, knowing the state of mind Cass was in, and know how he felt about that. I think it would have rounded things out a bit more. Just my opinion. :)

What Happened to Cass McBride? by Gail Giles

When Kyle Kirby's brother commits suicide, Kyle must punish the girl who pushed David over the edge. He kidnaps the popular, smart, go-getting Cass McBride and buries her alive! Now, Cass is suddenly alone with herself, her thoughts, and her harsh words. But even she knows there's only one way out of the box she's in--Kyle.

"What Happened to Cass McBride?" is told through first person via Cass's eyes and Kyle's which is an interesting turn. You see clearly the motivation behind each one's actions. The detective searching for Cass is told in third person, but is necessary to move the story closer toward the resolution of finding Cass and catching Kyle. The story is intriguing and draws you in.

As Cass must analyze Kyle, she must also self-analyze. She is not merely speaking to his psyche to gain freedom. When she learns the details of David's suicide, she realizes she is to blame and she is fraught with guilt. Cass really transforms through her ordeal, and although no one could be the same after an experience like that, we know that Cass McBride will be a stronger, better person afterward.

Although, a powerful book, there isn't a lot of emotion. I feel for Cass McBride and the situation she finds herself in, but I'm not in the box with her. I remain safely detached from the situation. Still, the story is compelling and the characters motives are well explained and understood and you will empathize.

It was an interesting book and can hold the attention of youths and adults alike, but as an adult reader, I finished quickly and consider myself having read a great "young adult" novel.

What Happened to Cassie McBride is a suspenseful, page-turner which will not disappoint Young Adult readers. Gail Gillies has a intriguing way of making her characters come alive as well as encouraging teenagers to keep reading. Her creative characterization and foreshadowing motivate the reader.
I have read four of Gail Gillies's novels for reluctant readers, and everyone of her books is powerful, suspenseful and thought-provoking. I encourage all teenagers, even those who would rather be on the internet, to read one of her novels; you won't be disappointed!

I like the series, the only fault I can see is that I would like more of the family involvement as Mr. Box did in earlier books.That is one of the things I thought made his stories different from the run of the mill.

though i enjoyed the story this was one of the worst digitl editions I have ever read. The words ran together making for a most unenjoyable reading experience.

This is the best Joe Pickett novel in the great series. The plot is clever, and all too believable. The characters are engaging, empathetic, complex and continue to develop through the series. (If you are new to the series, please do start with the first novel.) The science is real, accurate and up to the minute. I really wish there was an index or references at the end of the book.

Got three books including the latest one. Typical of the genre - cotton-candy for the mind. Very well done with a snap ending in each. I am adding Mr Box to my list of authors to buy more of.
By the way "cotton-candy for the mind" is not an insult.

C. J. Box has created a flawed hero in Forest Ranger Joe Pickett that reminds us of ouselves. But Joe is maturing, asserting himself, and gets fired for standing up to the self-oriented bureaucrats over him. In Free Fire, the governor gives him another chance to shoot himself in the foot, but he survives by doing the right thing. Joe's family continues to grow, and their closeness is enviable. If you like outdoor adventure, run, do not walk to the nearest bookstore and buy Free Fire and all the other Pickett novels.

This was my second Linda Howard book and what a wonderful read! I finished it in less than a day.

I love a book with a strong beginning...something that keeps me intrigued. And there was plenty of sexual tension between Niema and John throughout the story; what happened in Ronsard's office was unique. Also, how often do you read a book where you actually have empathy for the villain?

I'm on to find another Linda Howard book to read.

This is a very good book and very entertaining. I like all of Linda Howards books. She is an excellent writer and her stories are always spellbinding. Ms. Howard can't write books fast enough for me!

This book was great! Like previous reviews said it's a page turner for sure. The title didn't make sense to me, still trying to figure it out but the characters and events are awesome! John and Niema know each other from 5 years ago when her husband Dallas dies, and John promises to take care of Niema. They meet again 5 years later, where John asks her to help him with an assignment. She is hesitant at first, but then comes to the realization that she enjoys the thrill and excitment behind the danger of the job.

John and Niema's relationship evolves through the story and builds up pretty good. Towards the end of the the book otehr reviewers said the sex scene was border line rape. I disagree. That really discouraged me, but when I read it it wasn't what you'd think. It's all part of the plan, thats all I can say.

So after that scene there relationship is evolved, and the end of the book is suspenseful and really good, and then all of a sudden you hit the last page and are like "what?" The ending was not my favorite. Nothing was really answered (when Niema starts to question her feelings for John). I was disappointed with the ending and think Linda Howard could have done a better job.

If you want a really good page turner book, romance, and suspense then this is the book for you. Just don't be disappointed with the ending, its not horrible, but could have been better.

A really rather silly and ill constructed romance. It tries to do double duty as an espionage, but just can't manage it.

Fair enough that that the male lead, John Medina, is obsessed with the female lead, Niema Burdock; such is romantic escapism. But to suppose a healthy man is silently obsessing over the course of a 5 year period is pushing it even in this genre.

Where the plot really breaks down, though, is when he admits to taking her on a dangerous mission simply because he wants her around. When he further delays their rescue because he does not want to give her a chance to leave him without talking - well, it goes beyond absurd. You simply cannot take such a character seriously as professional.

I also had problems with the physical component of the relationship, which starts off with a scene in the office of an enemy, where they pretend to have sex in order to avoid suspicion. Problem is, their pretend sex turns into real sex, and even though Niema is portrayed as climaxing, the undertone is a little too close to rape for me.

There is also a secondary sex scene involving supporting characters where a woman's ex-boyfriend ties her up, strips her and begins having sex with her against her will. When she climaxes because of the oral sex he performs on her, she then becomes consenting. It's the same theme replayed, and it's really not romantic.

None of the couples seems to care about safe sex.

Beyond that, there are some fairly normal cliches; the main "bad guy" has a noble reason for all his actions. The heroine ends up charming him and eventually saving the day with a self sacrificing gesture. If you are okay with the sexual undertone of rape and can ignore the absurdity of the hero's motivations, this may be entertaining for you. The intensity of the characters and the spy angle makes it more interesting, at least, than standard sap. If you're just looking for a distraction, it serves the purpose.

Although I did not read the book that this is sequel to, I have to say overall I enjoyed it. John Medina was a great hero and his love for Neima was touching. The story was fun and fast paced, and it definitely had a suspense, on-the-edge-of-your-chair element to it that worked. Wasn't her best, but good nonetheless.

I am a hugh fan of Mariah Stewart and she continues to amaze with her twisted plots and real life characters.

Twisted story of suspense. A serial killer is killing women in an exceptionally gruesome way. He tortures and plays with them first. He then leaves them wrapped in plastic for the law to find. The FBI is brought in and the killer steps it up by taunting the cops by leaving bodies close to their homes and lives. I knew by about the end of the second chapter who the bad guy was. It was frustrating to see the characters play so dumb to the clues I obviously figured out. Good book but very dark with lots of death. Not for those with a weak stomach. One of the better books I've read this month.

This is the first book I've read by this author. I wouldn't have known the author was a romance writer unless I read her bio. The book is more of a whodunit, and it's pretty easy to figure out. When I was first exposed to the character who did it, I though "surely it's not this obvious", but in the end it was. This book is a good quick read, but doesn't provide much else.

Mariah Stewart is one of the best writers out there, and I love the ideas of her trilogies, which tie together but also work as stand-alones, so you don't feel as if you've missed something by not reading the previous books.

This one wasn't as good as the first in this trilogy, mainly because I thought the culprit's identity was obvious right from the beginning. But regardless, the book is still a page-turner that you won't be able to put down until it's finished.

Mariah Stewart gives us the second of the tales of the Shields family. Mia is the sister of Brenden who murdered Dylan in one of her previous novels. She has been unable to conquor the feeling that she should have known what was going on and stopped the murders. Her family has been FBI for many yrs and her father and his brother have several children in the FBI.

Mia Shields is the only daughter in a family of five, her other four brothers are FBI also. Now she is living in Conner's house in the country. Conner is her cousin and the brother of Dylan who was murdered by her own brother. Her inability to deal with the stresses caused by the murder have pushed her to the brink of burn-out. Now she is coming off two horrible cases, and she thinks nothing could be as bad as those, however, the murderer killing young women in St. Dennis, Maryland comes very close.

Gabrial Beck, the chief of police, of St. Dennis, has asked the bureau for help and Mia is not quite what he expected. Beck's father was the previous chief and helps part-time now. The first murder is not in his town but the next girl he finds himself, the killer has placed her body encased in plastic in the back seat of his car.

Both he and Mia realize this is no beginner and that there has to be a trail of bodies somewhere. As the bodies mount the evidence of a local killer emerges.

Although there is a romance in the book it does not take away from the horror of the way the victims are killed. I very much enjoyed this book and so far each of her novels has been a keeper.

Like any good pulp novel, Someone Owes Me Money pulls the reader right into the plot with very few preliminaries. The book's protagonist is a likeable, unflappable New York City cab driver named Chet Conway, a man who became a cab driver so that he can indulge his first love--gambling. He can work "day shift when the track is closed, night shift when it's open." Chet admits this with an easy, frank style in the book's second paragraph, and when I read this, I knew I was hooked. Chet is a wonderful protagonist, and this character reminds me once again why I enjoy Westlake so much. At the same time, I admit that I don't enjoy ALL Westlake novels equally, but in Somebody Owes Me Money, Westlake is at the top of his game.

Gambling is at the core of Chet's life, and yet at the same time his 'hobby' isn't entirely out-of-control. While it dictates his life, for example how much he works and whether or not he has a love life, he still controls his gambling urges enough to reason through how much he can afford to lose. One day after driving a well-heeled fare to a swanky address, Chet is annoyed when he doesn't receive the normal tip. Instead the man tells Chet to bet money on an outsider horse named Purple Pecunia scheduled to race that day.

Methodically Chet chews over the information. And after dismissing his annoyance at being robbed of a tip, he decides that there was something different about this fare, and playing a "hunch" Chet calls his bookie, Tommy McKay and places thirty-five dollars on Purple Pecunia. When the horse wins at 27-1, Chet is set to collect $980. But when Chet goes over to Tommy's house to collect the loot, all he finds is a stiff "sunny side up" in the living room.

From this moment on, Chet stubbornly refuses to ditch the idea that someone somewhere owes him money, and he reasons that if he wants his winnings, he has little choice but to begin investigating the crime. Chet rapidly becomes the prime suspect in the murder, but what's even worse than that is he still hasn't managed to collect his dough. Plagued by Tommy's hysterical frumpy wife, a sexy gun-toting dame looking for revenge, and a slew of angry, competing Neanderthal gangsters, Chet's life may never be the same.

This novel isn't fluff, and Westlake's canny observations of human nature add a great deal of depth to the story. Laced with strong well-drawn characters, Chet's world is packed with colorful personalities from his weekly poker game, and we meet Chet's father--a man whose hobby is an obsessive search for the best insurance policy available. In his pursuit of a policy that contains a lucrative flaw, Chet's father displays "the faith and the obstinacy of a man with a roulette system," and it's through this relationship that Chet's gambling addiction begins to make sense.

Written with a wry sense of humor, Somebody Owes Me Money is a wonderful escapist read and a superb addition to the Hard Case canon. There's one perfect scene in the book when Chet imagines, just for a moment, that he's Robert Mitchum. Chet notes, "there's a touch of Robert Mitchum in all of us," and for noir/crime fans, that is most definitely true.

Baseball, football and basketball all have their Halls of Fame. The equivalent among mystery writers would be the Grand Masters, a title awarded once a year to honor the lifetime achievement of a particular writer. The Grand Masters are the best of the best, and one of their most shining examples would be Donald Westlake.

Westlake has been writing crime stories for over four decades, both under his own name and his pseudonym, Richard Stark (he has had other pseudonyms such as Tucker Coe that have long since been retired). As Stark, he writes the classic Parker novels featuring the thief with a heart of steel. Under his own name, he has written Oscar-nominated screenplays (The Grifters) and a whole string of novels that are often, but not always, comic. Somebody Owes Me Money, the latest Hard Case Crime book to feature Westlake, is one of those comic novels.

The narrator of Somebody Owes Me Money is cab driver Chet Conway, an ordinary guy who likes to play the ponies, never getting seriously in debt but also never getting ahead. One of Chet's fares gives him a real tip: not money, but some inside information on a longshot that is certain to win. Conway takes a chance and on a small bet wins $930 (which in 1960's New York can go a long way).

Unfortunately, when he comes to collect from his bookie, the man is dead, leaving Chet in a bind. For one thing, the police are now regarding him with suspicion; for another, he doesn't know who to collect his winnings from. What's worse, it turns out that the bookie was entangled with two rival gangs, both of which suspect Chet of the killing, as does the bookie's beautiful blonde sister. For self-preservation - and to get his money - Chet will have to try and solve this crime himself.

As always, Westlake is a master of both suspense and humor, making this book a delight to read. If you're expecting one of Hard Case Crime's typical gritty pulp novels, this will be a bit of a surprise but no disappointment; you will get a nice example of what makes Westlake one of the very best in the business.

I have to admit that The Kid got a little misty-eyed when he saw that Hard Case Crime had published SOMEBODY OWES ME MONEY by Donald E. Westlake. I had owned a copy of it the first time around but lost it in an ill-fated cross-country move in 1973. For the longest time it had been inexplicably out of print --- until now.

Westlake has been a master craftsman for so long that it's difficult to remember a time when he wasn't around and doing excellent work. In SOMEBODY OWES ME MONEY we meet Chet Conway, a cab driver who lives with his dad and likes to play the ponies with an off-track New York betting establishment consisting of a one-man operation named Tommy McKay. Acting on a tip, he improbably wins. However, when he goes to collect his prize, Conway finds McKay dead with no money to be had. The cops are suspicious, as are two groups of mobsters who are shooting first and asking questions later. Conway is not a tough guy and wants nothing to do with criminals or the police; he simply wants the money he won in the bet.

Conway does have one friend in this mess who has suddenly become his life: McKay's sister Abbie, an attractive, street-smart card dealer from Vegas who has flown to New York to avenge her brother's murder. She, too, initially blames Conway but soon settles down enough to try to find the real killer even as she is slowly but surely becoming attracted to him. The result is that they both wind up being pursued by rival gangs, each of whom thinks that Conway is in the other's employ.

Conway soon realizes that, in order to resume a peaceful life, he's going to have to solve McKay's murder. Interestingly enough --- and here is where Westlake's subtle brilliance shines through --- while it is Conway's gambling habits that get him into this jam, it's also his gambling that ultimately reveals the true killer's identity. And you can guess who it is if you pay very close attention and if, like Conway when he places his racing bet, you are very lucky.

I would be tempted to say that they don't write 'em like SOMEBODY OWES ME MONEY anymore, but that would be incorrect. Westlake continues to annually add to his incredible body of work. This treasure, once lost but now found, is a sheer joy from beginning to end.

--- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub

I'm really glad that Hard Case Crime has chosen to reprint this early Donald Westlake novel, not only because Somebody Owes Me Money is a really good book, but also for a more personal reason. I've been reading his series books for so long -- whether under his own name, or the Richard Stark pseudonym -- that I had really forgotten how good Westlake could be at standalone comic crime novels.

The most eloquent cab driver in New York City, Chet Conway works nights so he can spend his days at the track (and he works days where there are no races). When he gets a tip on a horse instead of the usual spendable gratuity, Chet decides that a man who can calculate in his head the return on a $3.54 bet at 22-to-1 odds must know what he's talking about.

But when Chet goes to pick up his winnings ("Almost a thousand dollars! I was rich!"), he finds his bookie Tommy McKay "spread out on the floor, sunny side up. With the yolk broken." And suddenly people start thinking he did it. Tommy's wife Louise, the police, the syndicate, etc. But nobody seems to know where he can go now to collect his $930.00 payoff.

When Tommy's sister Abbie climbs into his cab, things take a definite turn for the worse. Chet gets shot in the head and has to recuperate at Tommy's place, where eventually every member of organized crime in the city treads through, wanting to know why Chet killed Tommy. Chet has to clear his name by figuring out the real killer.

Somebody Owes Me Money is one of the few actual mysteries put out by Hard Case Crime. Off the top of my head I can only think of three, but they all involve licensed private investigators, as opposed to this amateur. After all, Chet may be eloquent, but, like all good crime protagonists, he's also a little dim. (Truly smart people manage to avoid these situations.)

God Save the Mark is more wildly clever (it's Westlake's masterpiece, in my opinion), and any given Dortmunder book has more belly laughs, but Somebody Owes Me Money is still vastly entertaining (with an ending that is 180° from the typical whodunit) and yet another reason why every Donald E. Westlake book, even the lesser-known ones, should stay continuously in print.

If you like exotic locales, sympathetic characters and ingenious mysteries, you must meet Dr. Siri Paiboun. I would suggest going back to the first book (I think this is #4 or #5.) I have greatly enjoyed them all. This one is not the best, the ending is too neatly and mechanically tied up, there is a little "series fatigue" in the plotting. The chapters that dealt with the Khmer people were I thought greatly engaging. This is one of the few books or series in a non-fantasy genre that can mix in a little of the supernatural without distorting the story line. Above all, there is humor and a matter-of-factness about life and death that leaves you, as most mystery fiction does not, feeling good about the world.

I am a huge fan of Dr. Siri and this latest installment did not disppoint in any way. Excellent read and I am looking forward to the next volume!

I can't praise this series too highly; it's hard to break new ground in the mystery genre (that's why it's now a genre!), but Colin Cotterill has done so -- triumphantly. His descriptions make me feel that I'm back on the dusty streets of Vientiane, where an aid worker's SUV can pull up at a traffic light alongside a bullock cart and a lot of bicycles. And his characters feel like far more than just a Westerner's intepretation of what a Lao in the 70s must have been like.

Initially, I was wary of the shamanistic elements entering the narrative. With such a rich historical context to work in, I wondered how this could avoid puzzling and distracting the reader. (Also, I can live without New Age/fantasy interrupting my reading.) But they fit admirably, even in this book, which is less of a conventional mystery than the previous novels in the series, with Dr. Siri caught up in Hmong rituals after being kidnapped by a small group of these tribal members. It was somewhat jarring to have Dr. Siri operating independently from his faithful sidekicks in Vientiane, esp. Nurse Dtui, which is the only reason I have left off a fifth star. I also wouldn't recommend starting the series with this book -- too much previous knowledge of the characters is required.

Like some other reviewers, I hope Cotterill steers back toward a less esoteric topic and one that brings the principal characters together for his next work -- but I'll still be buying it on the first day I can because I don't want to have to wait longer than I must for the next installment in this series. With each of them, I have had the feeling I get only from the books I enjoy most: I wish I hadn't read them so that I could have the pleasure of reading them for the first time all over again.

The silliness starts with the title. Come on, how obscure can you get in the attempt at being original?
The silliest part of the 5th instalment of the Siri-saga is the episode of the terrible Lizard, the super terrorist, who is really rather ridiculous. So is the amateur sleuth club whose members try to be criminalists in Vientiane in Siri's absence. The club consists of his usual pals and women and is completely unconvincing when taking center stage.
This whole mess happens because Siri himself is in the North involved in a Hmong drama. His involvement is caused by another satyrically strong episode with the stupidity of the party and with Siri's boss. The strong side here is the background on the Hmong, an unfortunate homeless people who have a habit of sitting between the chairs (a German idiom which should be understandable here). Some Hmong have sided with the Americans during the war, and now they have to try their best at escape to America. Siri is totally sympathetic, despite his party background. Despite this redeeming feature, the Hmong story is also silly, because there is too much otherworld and too much senile romance.
One of the positive features is the role of music: the Hmong, in their wanderings from China into Laos, have lost, some time ago, their history and their written language. Instead they invented the language by music, by the 5-pipe flute. I thought, this might be interesting to a certain Renaissance Italian that I know in these Amazonian zones.
Most series lose their interest for me sooner or later. Siri did that after the 3rd instalment. This is a normal process. Every crime series has to build on certain elements, which are usually only good enough for a limited number of sequels. Normal.

In the late 1970s the Laotian National Coroner seventy-three years old Dr. Siri Paiboun is attending some governmental Communist Party function (waste of time if you ask him) in the north. Meanwhile back in the capital Vientiane a corpse of a soldier booby trapped with grenades is anonymously dropped off at the morgue. Only the fast and capable work of Paibourn's assistant Nurse Dtui avoids a tragedy from happening.

Meanwhile Paibourn looks forward to getting home to spend time with his fiancée Madame Daeng and even time in the morgue, which is better than attending these inane officious official officialdoms. Instead the female members of the Hmong tribe abduct Dr. Siri as they need his help; or at least of the millennium old shaman Yeh Ming is to perform an exorcism on the tribal chief's daughter demonically possessed due to an evil pogo stick placed on an alter.

CURSE OF THE POGO STICK is a solid historical mystery that contains two subplots, in which both contain humor inside serious situations that brings to life 1977-78 Laos. The Vientiane investigation is superbly written as Nurse Dtui cleverly leads the inquiry into who would use a dead soldier to kills others. However, Colin Cotterill's insight into the suppressed Hmong people, caught between the violent Communist regime and Nixon's just completed a few years ago secret war, is what makes this a great entry as neither side cares what happened to these expendable mountain pawns. The insight into the Hmong culture and their "collateral damage" plight supersede the whodunit.

Harriet Klausner